The Predator and the Prey
by Doodles-Ice-Mint
Summary: In a big house full of cruel, scrutinizing eyes, Sesshomaru is all the young Inuyasha has. Inuyasha wants nothing more than his aniki.


Feet shifting, Inuyasha stared up at his brother pleadingly, ears fluttering as his bottom lip quivered. "Aniki..."

* * *

Sesshomaru refused to spare the hanyou a glance.

* * *

The hanyou let out a quiet whimper at being ignored.

* * *

Flicking silver hair over his shoulder, the youkai began to walk away.

* * *

Rushing forward, Inuyasha latched onto his brother's leg. "No, damn it!"

* * *

Sesshomaru stopped dead with an appalled arch in his brow. "What language, Inuyasha."

* * *

Pouting, the hanyou pressed his face into the youkai's leg. "Don't leave, aniki..."

* * *

"Why ever not?"

* * *

"'Cause I'll be sad..."

* * *

With a concealed sigh, Sesshomaru sat down gracefully, deciding the rest of his tasks could stand to wait a little bit longer.

* * *

Inuyasha eagerly crawled into his brother's lap, his small, chubby hands grasping silky cloth "Why was aniki going to leave me?"

* * *

"You should not spend so much time with me."

* * *

The young hanyou frowned in confusion. "But you're Aniki..."

* * *

"Yes. I am also a full-blooded daiyoukai. We are worlds apart."

* * *

"Nu-ah." Inuyasha shook his head and his brows crinkled as he gave his brother a curious look. He thought the youkai was smarter than this. "We're both right here."

* * *

Sesshomaru shook his head, shifting the hanyou in his lap. "Our degree of literal closeness does not matter. With our differences, we are not meant to coexist. I am the predator, while you are the prey."

* * *

The hanyou chewed his bottom lip. "Are you gonna eat me then? 'Cause that wouldn't be very nice.."

* * *

Sesshomaru gave the little hanyou an amused look. "My actions would not differ from normal, then. But no. I am sure you taste terribly."

* * *

Inuyasha pursed his lips and crossed his arms. "I don't taste bad," He grumbled unhappily. "I bet _you_ taste bad."

* * *

"Hm." Sesshomaru tilted his head in feigned thought. "You would not be able to taste me. Your mouth would stick as though you'd kissed a frozen pole."

* * *

"I don't kiss poles, aniki." The hanyou shook his head as if to scold his elder for being so silly. With a determined look, he leaned forward. "But I can too taste you." Rising to the challenge, Inuyasha stuck his tongue out and dragged it up his brother's cheek.

* * *

Sesshomaru stiffened, not expecting the hanyou to actually indulge in tasting him. "Do not do that."

* * *

Grinning triumphantly, Inuyasha laughed at his brother's expression. "How come? You were wrong, aniki**—**I can do it!" As emphasis, the hanyou repeated the motion on the youkai's other cheek.

* * *

Sesshomaru then stood abruptly, setting Inuyasha down and looking at him sternly. "I said, do not."

* * *

Inuyasha looked up with once again watery eyes, lips trembling. "Aniki..."

* * *

"That level of familiarity is not to be established between us," said Sesshomaru, hating the hanyou for his capacity to unintentionally manipulate the youkai's firm mind. In truth, Sesshomaru was pleased by the small displays of affection Inuyasha tended to give. But Sesshomaru was getting older. He was preparing to assume the position of lordship. He needed to distance himself from his flaw of a brother.

* * *

The little hanyou whimpered, ears laying back. "I.. I thought it was just a game, aniki." He looked down, drawing his knees to his chest an wrapping his arms around them. "I didn't mean to upset you**—**please... D-don't leave!" He looked up again, tears welling in frightened golden eyes. He didn't want Sesshomaru to go away again.

* * *

Sesshomaru clenched his fists, noting the pairs of prying eyes they were beginning to attract. Apathetically, Sesshomaru scooped up the sniffling hanyou and began to walk in the direction of his chambers.

* * *

Inuyasha buried his face against the youkai's neck, wet eyelashes fluttering against pale skin. His hands fisted tightly in his brother's kimono as he clung with a tinge of desperation. He didn't care where they were going, so long as Sesshomaru didn't leave him again.

* * *

Receiving many ineffectively concealed gawks, Sesshomaru strode into his chambers and shut the door behind him, dropping Inuyasha onto the bed. After hanging his sword on the wall, he sat at his desk and sifted through the accumulation of scrolls, finding the one he had been reading earlier.

* * *

Rubbing a fist over his moist eyes, Inuyasha sniffed and tilted his head at his brother's back. "A-aniki?" He crawled over plush blankets to the foot of the bed, closer to the youkai.

* * *

Sesshomaru's tone was inattentive, eyes never leaving the scroll in his hands. "You may remain here while I review what Father has given me for today."

* * *

The hanyou climbed off the bed, bare feet pattering over the floor as he ran to his brother's side. Reaching up, Inuyasha grasped at the youkai's kimono and gave it a tug. He blinked to clear away the lingering moisture in his eyes, looking hopefully at his brother. "Ca' I sit with you?"

* * *

Sesshomaru pursed his lips, staving off the urge to look at the hanyou. No one could see them in his chambers, he supposed. And the hanyou would likely make noise, shuffling around unoccupied. "You may."

* * *

The hanyou eagerly clambered into his brother's lap again, sitting so he could look at what Sesshomaru was looking at. He reached toward the scroll, one finger pointed out as a tiny claw poked at the paper. "What's this?"

* * *

Sesshomaru took Inuyasha's hand to move it out of the way. "This is a report from the guards. It documents the current state of the surrounding villages; the ones under our protection."

* * *

"Hm..." Inuyasha titled his head back to look up at his brother. After a moment, he looked back down at the scroll, his other hand moving to point at a single symbol. "What's this one mean?"

* * *

"Prosperous."

* * *

"It's boring." His ears twitched as he looked back up at his brother, head tilted back and resting on the youkai's chest. "Aniki, is there anything about me?"

* * *

Sesshomaru raised a brow, shifting his gaze to Inuyasha for the first time since he'd brought them here. "These scrolls are all reports. They hold nothing of interest to you. You live within the palace, there is no need for a report on you." If there was indeed anything written about Inuyasha, it would lie within the family documents. His mother, the lady of this palace, had forbade any mention of the hanyou in their family documentation. Inuyasha had not been allowed a portrait either. The only proof of Inuyasha's existence was right there in his lap.

* * *

The hanyou drew in a deep breath, until his lungs could not hold anymore air and his shoulders hunched up. In an exaggerated motion, shoulders falling low, he expelled the breath with a little whine. "Anikiiii... Play with me?"

* * *

Sesshomaru sighed, rubbing his temple. He was never going to get anything done like this. "If you sit here, _quietly_," he looked at Inuyasha for a moment, letting that foreign word to sink in, "I will make a fire on the hearth and I will allow you to remain here for the night. Once I am done with my tasks, you can do whatever you like."

* * *

Inuyasha's eyes lit up. "All night?" At the slight inclination of the youkai's head, he eagerly snapped his jaw shut and went back to looking at the scrolls with his brother. He couldn't read all the words, but there were a few he thought he knew. The hanyou nearly pointed at the scroll again, to show his brother that he knew but stopped himself, shoulders slumping slightly. He had to be quiet.

After some time of sitting nearly silent, Inuyasha grew restless. All his brother did was read a scroll and put it on the desk then pick up another one. The little hanyou found it too boring. So he started to fidget. First, he just toyed with the hem of his haori. But that got boring too. Then he played with his hair. That wasn't fun either. Finally, unable to think of anything else, Inuyasha poked his brother's hand each time a new scroll was picked up. With the newest scroll the youkai picked up, the hanyou giggled a bit as he poked his brother's palm. His poking continued all the way up the youkai's wrist and forearm before Inuyasha moved his clawed finger back down to his brother's palm.

* * *

As Sesshomaru scanned scroll after scroll, the night wore on and he became increasingly disinterested, as the hanyou most definitely was. Sesshomaru let Inuyasha's peculiar behavior slide on the grounds that he was a child with a very low attention span; therefore, he was doing better than Sesshomaru had thought he might.

By the time he'd completed the last scroll, it was well into the hanyou's bed time. Even Sesshomaru had to stave off a jaw-cracking yawn at this point so he was surprised Inuyasha was still alert. He got up from his desk, lifting the hanyou up with him, and making his way to the grand, decorative fireplace where he had a roaring fire going in no time. Eager to relax his posture, Sesshomaru lowered himself onto a cushion and leaned back on his hands to absorb the glowing warmth in front of him.

* * *

Inuyasha watched from his place on the floor as his brother stared a fire. It was warm and it made him sleepy. But he didn't want to sleep just yet. Not when the youkai had agreed to let him stay**—**_all night._ The hanyou crawled over to his brother and sat with crossed legs at his side. "Aniki? Are we gonna play now?"

* * *

Sesshomaru glanced at the hanyou out of the corner of his eye. "What exactly do you consider 'play'?"

* * *

"Somethin' fun. Not like reading..." After a brief pout at the thought of having to watch his brother read again, Inuyasha's ears perked and he smiled. Scooting a little closer, he leaned forward on his hands. "What does aniki do for fun?"

* * *

"Aniki does not**—**" Sesshomaru shook his head slightly, having momentarily contracted the hanyou's way of speaking. "_I_ do not indulge in 'fun.' Fun does not give one discipline."

* * *

"Uh.. I don't think it's s'posed to." Inuyasha rose up on his knees and leaned his body into his brother's, looking at the youkai pleadingly. "There must be somethin' though. _Pleeaasse_, jus' one thing?"

* * *

Glancing down at his brother's large, pleading eyes, Sesshomaru huffed through his nose, the corner of his mouth twitching upward. "When I was your age**—**a bit older actually**—**I enjoyed tormenting the adults."

* * *

Eyes widening as though a secret had just been revealed, Inuyasha's mouth formed a small 'o.' "How'd you do that, aniki?" The hanyou bounced on his knees a bit, excited that he might learn to do something his brother did. "Can I too?"

* * *

Making a thoughtful sound, Sesshomaru placed his hand on top of the bouncy hanyou's head. "I often hid things where they would never be found. I sometimes tampered with the food that would be served to important guests. When I was very bored, I would ruin a servant's completed job. For example, I would track dirt all through the floor after it had just been mopped. I was careful not to get caught. The few times I did get caught though, I was punished severely." Sesshomaru poked the hanyou's ear and gave him a stern look. "You must never do these things."

* * *

Inuyasha shook his head to get his ears away from his brother's hand and stuck his bottom lip out as he frowned. "How come? It sounds like fun.. And you did it, aniki**—**I wanna too!"

* * *

"Absolutely not." Sesshomaru reached over and picked the hanyou up by the back of his haori, placing him into his lap and forcing the hanyou to look up at him with a hand under his chin. "You are not what one might call 'discrete.' I know some of the servants must have refrained from bothering my parents with my mischievous ways as well. You would not be so lucky. If you did those things, it would give them an excuse to be crueler to you than they already are." His thumb tapped Inuyasha's chin. "_Promise_ me**—**you will not attempt anything of the kind."

* * *

After a moment of staring at his brother and trying to be defiant, the hanyou huffed, ears drooping. "I promise," He mumbled with a pout fixed on his face. Inuyasha looked down with slumped shoulders, his chin still in the youkai's grasp, and sniffed a little.

* * *

A minute smile ghosted over his lips before it melted away as quickly as it came. "If someone were to write in a scroll about you, what would you have him write?"

* * *

Lifting his gaze again, the hanyou's brief sadness over not being able to do what his brother did disappeared. Focusing completely on what his brother asked, Inuyasha's face scrunched up slightly as he thought and ears flicked in concentration. "He'd write... About**—**I'd want him to write me a story."

* * *

"Oh?" Deciding that it was about time they settled down, Sesshomaru stood and brought Inuyasha to the bed, slipping the fire rat haori and kosode over his head and draping them neatly over a chair before removing his own boots, shrugging out of his kimono, and throwing back the comforter for them both to climb into bed. "What would this story consist of?"

* * *

Curling up at his brother's side, Inuyasha snuggled his face into the blanket and yawned before rolling onto his stomach so he could look at the youkai. "You'd be in it, aniki. Me too. Everyone here!" The hanyou smiled, eager to share his idea. "In my story, you wouldn't have to go away so much and we could play together more. Even if you gotta read first... And then we could sleep together every night! 'Cause I really like your bed and the fire and you. But I know aniki is busy sometimes so he can't always spend time with me... So then**—**that's when everyone else gets to be in my story! The servants and everyone would be nice to me and**—**and maybe you would even let me torment them, like you said earlier. But the kids would play with me and I could learn new games to play with aniki! Then, um.." The hanyou nibbled his bottom lip as he tried to think of what else could make his story really good. "Oh! And then, everyone would smile**—**you too, aniki. 'Cause I like it when you smile."

* * *

As if to conclude the elaborate story Inuyasha had fabricated, Sesshomaru found the corners of his mouths twitching upward once again. "Perhaps one day _you_ will write this story. And I will read it." Sesshomaru smoothed a lock of Inuyasha's hair that stuck up when he burrowed into the blankets. "How does that sound?"

* * *

"Okay.. But.. Will you read it to me?" Inuyasha tapped his fingers along the youkai's chest as he asked, almost nervous of the answer he might receive.

* * *

"You wish for me to read your own story aloud?" Sesshomaru's eyes followed the hanyou's tiny fingers before he stretched out his arm for his brother to have something besides the flat bed at his side to rest his head on. "I do not see why not."

* * *

"You're the best, aniki," Inuyasha claimed happily as he flopped onto his side. His head on his brother's arm as he curled himself as close to the youkai as he could. After a few moments, Inuyasha glanced up again. "Aniki," He whispered. "Will.. Will you do somethin' for me?"

* * *

Sesshomaru blinked tiredly, his eyes threatening to close as his head met the softness of his feather pillow. Having his brother so close also lulled him into a state of relaxation, contrasting with the rigid authoritative demeanor he employed outside of his chambers. "Hm?" The last time he'd allowed Inuyasha to share his bed was when a servant had broken the young hanyou's arm, thrashing him for stealing food.

* * *

The hanyou brought his hands up to his face, his eyes glued to them as his fingers twisted and his claws poked his own skin. "It's just... Uh," Inuyasha hesitated, his feet beginning to fidget too. "Well, it's.. My mama. Sh-she used to..." He bit his lip and wondered if asking was really a good idea. What if Sesshomaru got mad at him and made him go back to his own room? It was colder in there... "Used to.. At bedtime, she'd..." He didn't want to go back. The hanyou wrapped himself around his brother as much as he could, pressing his face into the youkai's side as he spoke as quickly as he could. "Sheusedtogimmeakiss!" Taking a shuddering breath and sniffing a little, afraid he'd be sent away, Inuyasha continued quietly with his eyes closed tightly. "...Will you gimme one?"

* * *

Sesshomaru blinked down at the hanyou whose face was buried into the youkai's side. Inuyasha was obviously worried about asking such a thing of Sesshomaru. With these circumstances, the hanyou was indeed right to be apprehensive. His ears appeared to be on the brink of drooping. The longer Sesshomaru merely looked at him, the more the hanyou seemed to relinquish hope of having his request fulfilled.

Completely stoic-faced, Sesshomaru pulled Inuyasha from his side, lifted him by his armpits, and pecked him softly on the lips before lowering him back down and tucking the blankets around him.

* * *

The hanyou smiled against his brother as he was returned to the bed and tucked back against the youkai's side. There was a light blush on his cheeks as he giggled from embarrassment. "Thank you, aniki." Sesshomaru wasn't like everyone else**—**Inuyasha believed his brother truly cared for him**—**he shouldn't have worried about asking him. Closing his eyes, the hanyou nestled closer and felt utterly safe beside the youkai. Safe and warm. He missed feeling like this every night. "I wanna sleep you with tomorrow too..."

* * *

Sesshomaru did yawn this time as he turned onto his side and pressed his face into his pillow, draping his free arm over the warm bundle at his side. "We shall see." At this rate, it would be impossible to distance himself from the young hanyou. But perhaps...the predator and the prey were bound to defeat the odds eventually.

* * *

Alright, so...

ConspiringWordAddict and I decided to take a day off from writing Licentious Obsession yesterday because I was very busy. So when I finally got home, we talked on Facebook of course, and what do we do? We start writing in our characters' dialog and accidentally start roleplaying. On our night we decided to take a break. So yeah. This is what came out of that. Apparently we needed something fluffy... ^^'

Ja ne.


End file.
